June 25, 2025
Highlights of the June 12 VSB Council Meeting
At its meeting on June 12, 2025, in Virginia Beach, the Virginia State Bar Council heard the following significant reports and took the following actions.
2025–26 VSB President Installation
The 2025 Virginia State Bar Annual Meeting took place June 11–14, and 2025–26 VSB President K. Brett Marston was sworn into office and will take over the presidency of the VSB on July 1, 2025. He has served on VSB Council and Executive Committee, as chair of the Legal Ethics Committee, as chair of the Construction Law Section, as a member of the Committee on Budget and Finance, as a member of the Bench-Bar Relations Committee, as a member of the Committee on Professionalism, as a Professionalism Course faculty member, and on the VSB Young Lawyers Conference Board of Governors. Marston is managing partner of Gentry Locke Attorneys in Roanoke. Susan Bradford Tarley of Tarley Robinson, PLC in Williamsburg was also sworn in as president-elect for 2025–26 and will take over the presidency of the VSB on July 1, 2026.
Request for Approval to Engage in Legislative Activity
Council unanimously approved petitioning the Supreme Court of Virginia for approval to engage in legislative activity to amend Va. Code § 54.1-3912 in the 2026 General Assembly Session. Va. Code § 54.1-3912, last amended in 1995, imposes a statutory cap of $250 on the VSB’s dues assessment. The rate assessed has remained unchanged since 2000. Since that time, the VSB has had increased costs due to employee salaries and raises, technology expenses, inflation, and increased rent and is operating on a deficit budget.
The VSB proposes to request the General Assembly to remove or, alternatively, to raise the statutory maximum for the annual dues. This statutory change would allow the Supreme Court of Virginia greater flexibility, pursuant to Part 6, Section IV, Paragraph 11 of the Rules of the Supreme Court of Virginia, to set the rate of the VSB annual dues and to adjust dues to align with economic conditions and operational requirements.
Amendments to Part 6, Section IV, Paragraph 13 of the Rules of the Supreme Court of Virginia, Procedure for Disciplining, Suspending, and Disbarring Attorneys
Council approved, with 58 yes votes and 1 no vote, petitioning the Supreme Court of Virginia to approve amendments to conform Paragraph 13 to Va. Code § 54.1-3935 by adding a specific mechanism for Bar Counsel to elect a three-judge circuit court for each type of disciplinary proceeding; eliminate restrictions on the imposition of terms for disciplinary suspensions of one year or less; and conform disciplinary board and district committee procedures regarding requests for and consideration of a respondent’s disciplinary record.
Proposed Legal Ethics Opinion 1901—Generative AI and Billing
Council approved, with 62 yes votes and 1 no vote, petitioning the Supreme Court of Virginia to adopt Proposed LEO 1901 that discusses the reasonableness of fees when a lawyer uses time-saving tools that rely on generative AI. The opinion concludes that value-based fees can reflect efficiency gains, the specialized skill of effectively incorporating technology, and the value of the lawyer’s services and output, and remain reasonable under Rule 1.5(a).
Approval of New Sections
Council approved, with 51 yes votes, 4 no votes, and 8 abstentions, the creation of four new VSB sections—Diversity Section, Local and Specialty Bar Section, Senior Lawyers Section, and Young Lawyers Section—and adopted the conferences’ bylaws as the new sections’ bylaws. The new sections are required to submit new bylaws no later than June 30, 2026. The creation of the four new sections implements the directives of the Supreme Court of Virginia’s April 16, 2025, Order, which requires the conversion of the Conference of Local and Specialty Bar Associations, the Diversity Conference, the Senior Lawyers Conference, and the Young Lawyers Conference into sections by June 30, 2025.
Council Approved with 48 yes votes, 2 no votes, and 1 abstention, for leadership to continue communications with the Supreme Court of Virginia regarding the VSB’s conferences and sections.
Approval of Amendments to the Bylaws of the Virginia State Bar and Council
Council approved, with 52 yes votes, 1 no vote, and 6 abstentions, changes to Part I, Article VIII, Section 3 and Part II, Article VI, Section 1. The amendments change the references to the four VSB conferences, the Conference of Local and Specialty Bar Associations, the Diversity Conference, the Senior Lawyers Conference, and the Young Lawyers Conference to align the Bylaws with the July 1, 2025, amendments to Part Six, Section IV, Paragraph 5 of the Rules of the Supreme Court of Virginia.
Approval of Amendments to Section Bylaws
Council unanimously approved amendments to the VSB Bankruptcy Law Section, General Practice Section, Education of Lawyers Section, and Military Law Section Bylaws to be effective July 1, 2025. Additionally, the amendments change the Military Law Section name to the Military and Veterans Law Section, effective July 1, 2025.
Disciplinary District Committee Appointments
Council unanimously approved the slate of volunteer candidates to fill vacancies for the 2025–26 term on the Disciplinary District Committees.